Like many politicians, Gov. John Kasich
touted transparency and openness on the campaign trail, but this year’s
JobsOhio controversies have proven that the governor was all talk and no
action when he made such claims.

Greater Cincinnati homeless shelters are reporting a 31 percent increase in the number of families calling for help
— a sign that homelessness may be trending up.
Meanwhile, City Council managed to avoid cutting funding to human
services that help the homeless this year, but the local government has
steadily provided less funding since 2004, as CityBeat covered in further detail here.Cincinnati lost 4,000 jobs
from June to July, but it gained 14,000 between July 2012 and July this
year, far above the 3,000 necessary to keep up with annual population
growth, according to data released yesterday by the Ohio Department of
Job and Family Services. The seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was
at 7.1 percent in July, down from 7.3 percent in June and 7.4 percent
in July 2012. The labor force shrunk in comparison to the previous month
and year, which means the unemployment rate fell partly because many
people stopped looking for jobs. In comparison, Ohio’s seasonally
unadjusted unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in July and the U.S. rate
was 7.4 percent.
More JobsOhio controversy: The state panel that approves
tax credits recommended by the privatized development agency has never
said no, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Gov. John Kasich and Republicans say the Ohio Tax Credit Authority is
supposed to be an independent watchdog on JobsOhio, but both JobsOhio
and the Ohio Tax Credit Authority have their boards appointed by the
governor. Democrats have been highly critical of JobsOhio for its lack
of transparency and privatized nature, but Republicans say both are good
traits for an agency that needs to move fast to land job-creating
development deals.
Meanwhile, two Democrats in the Ohio House are pushing a ban
on Ohio officials, including the governor, receiving outside pay. The
proposal is largely in response to JobsOhio recommending $619,000 in tax
credits in 2012 and 2013 to Worthington Industries, a company that paid
Kasich through 2012 for his time on its board. The Ohio Ethics
Commission refused to investigate the potential conflict of interest
because it said Kasich made a clean break from Worthington when he was
elected.
Hamilton County taxpayers might have to put up $10 million
to give the Cincinnati Bengals a high-definition scoreboard, thanks to
the team’s lease with the county. Economists generally see stadiums as
one of the most over-hyped, unsuccessful urban investments, according to The Nation.
No City Council member supports the tea party-backed pension amendment that would privatize Cincinnati’s pension system so future city workers, excluding
cops and firefighters, contribute to and manage individual 401k-style
accounts. Currently, Cincinnati pools pension funds and manages the
investments through an independent board. City officials and unions
claim the measure will cost the city more than the current system and
hurt retirement gains for city employees. But tea party groups say the
amendment is necessary to address Cincinnati’s growing pension costs,
including an $862 million unfunded liability. CityBeat wrote about the amendment and the groups that could be behind it in further detail here.
Ohio is partnering up with the Jason Foundation to provide training and information
to teachers, coaches, other school personnel, parents and students
about suicide, the second leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds
after car accidents. The measure aims to curb down suicide rates.
Hamilton County and Cincinnati are pursuing joint funding
of technology upgrades for 911 services, and the two local governments are moving
permitting services to one location, according to a statement from
Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann’s office. Hartmann has long pursued more city-county collaboration so both can run more
efficiently and bring down costs.
The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati is now called Interact for Health.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) yesterday reported 2013’s first case of West Nile Virus.
A 72-year-old woman in Cuyahoga County is apparently being hospitalized for the disease. ODH Director Ted Wymyslo said in a statement that,
while Ohio has dealt with West Nile Virus since 2002, cases have dropped
in the past year.
The University of Cincinnati is set to break another record for enrollment this fall.
Dunnhumby USA yesterday unveiled the design for its downtown headquarters.
A new electric car can fold itself in half when parking.

Employment down from June but up compared to last year

The Cincinnati area lost 4,000 jobs from June to July, but
it gained 14,000 between July 2012 and July this year, far above the 3,000 necessary to keep up with annual population growth, according to
data released today by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was at 7.1
percent in July, down from 7.3 percent in June and 7.4 percent in July
2012. The labor force
shrunk in comparison to the previous month and year, which means the unemployment rate fell partly because many
people stopped looking for jobs.
The unemployment rate gauges the amount of unemployed
people looking for work in comparison to the total civilian labor force,
which means a decrease in the labor force can bring down the unemployment
rate even if employment also drops.
Economists generally prefer looking at year-over-year
numbers to control for seasonal factors, such as teachers leaving the work force at the end of the school year.
July’s job gains were largest in professional and business
services, leisure and hospitality and educational and health services,
but the city lost jobs in mining, logging and construction,
manufacturing and all levels of government.
Ohio’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 7.2 percent in July. The U.S. rate was 7.4 percent.
Since the job numbers are derived from surveys, they are often revised in later months.

Ohio’s unemployment rate remained at 7.2 percent in July, unchanged from June, according to new data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The amount of employed Ohioans went up by 5,300 from month-to-month and
37,700 year-over-year, showing stronger signs of job growth than earlier in the year. But the amount of jobless Ohioans still looking for jobs went up by
3,000 between June and July. In the past year, the private
service-providing sector, education and health services and leisure and
hospitality have gained the most jobs, while local government and
construction jobs have plummeted.
The Port Authority of Greater Cincinnati proposed keeping neighborhood parking meter hours the same under a lease agreement with Cincinnati in which the city is handing over control of its parking meters, lots and garages to the Port and the agency is tasking private companies with operating the assets. Keeping the meter hours
the same as today, instead of expanding them as previously suggested,
would lower Cincinnati’s upfront lease revenue from $92 million
to $88.3 million and reduce annual payments, which were originally
projected at $3 million but estimated to go up over the life of the
lease. Still, the move would satisfy neighborhood residents and businesses who were worried the expanded hours would quickly become a financial hassle. CityBeat covered the parking lease and the controversy surrounding it in further detail here.
Republican legislators are reintroducing a bill that would ban abortions in Ohio as early as six weeks after conception,
even though questions remain about the proposal’s constitutionality.
The bill has been dubbed the “heartbeat bill” because it prohibits
abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. A federal judge on July
22 blocked a similar law in North Dakota after deeming it
unconstitutional. “The United States Supreme Court has unequivocally
said that no state may deprive a woman of the choice to terminate her
pregnancy at a point prior to viability,” wrote U.S. District Judge
Daniel Hovland, who was appointed to the District of North Dakota seat
by former President George W. Bush in 2002. Health experts generally
agree viability is not reached until 24 weeks into the pregnancy.
Part of the Cincinnati streetcar route could be operational in late 2015, much earlier than the Sept. 15, 2016 date the city previously announced for the entire track.
The Ohio Ethics Commission won’t investigate Gov. John Kasich’s relationship with a company
that received $619,000 in tax credits from JobsOhio because Kasich
supposedly made a clean break from the company upon taking office.
JobsOhio, the privatized development agency established by Kasich and
Republican legislators, has been mired in controversy in the past few
weeks for providing state aid to companies that have direct financial
ties to JobsOhio board members and the governor.
Meanwhile, Kasich is fueling speculation that he will run for president in 2016.
Cincinnati mayoral candidate and ex-Councilman John Cranley on Thursday unveiled an innovation plan
that he says will boost government transparency and help foster
Cincinnati’s newly gained reputation as a tech startup hub. The plan
would take $5 million in capital funds over four years and ask local
startup incubators Cintrifuse, The Brandery and CincyTech where they
would like to see the money going. It would also call for hiring a chief
innovation officer (CIO) and creating “CincyData,” a transparency
initiative that would gather and publish city data to create “a more
efficient, effective and user-friendly City government.” Under the plan,
both the CIO position and CincyData would be leveraged to find new ways
to carry out city services in the hopes of running the local government
more efficiently.
Cincinnati Public Schools’ ratings are likely to dip
as the school district transitions into Common Core standards and a
new state report card system. Superintendent Mary Ronan says the
district is doing well but needs to work on getting kids’ reading scores
up to grade level. CityBeat originally covered the ratings drop here and some of the hurdles faced by CPS in the past few years here.
New data show the growth of health care costs is slowing down in the Cincinnati area.
Ohio will come up with a new plan to execute condemned inmates
no later than Oct. 4 to deal with the state’s expiring supply of drugs
used to carry out capital punishments. Specifics were not detailed in
court filings.
Procter & Gamble is recalling dog and cat food because some of the product may be contaminated with Salmonella.
Science confirmed pulling out is a bad way to avoid pregnancy.

Cincinnati mayoral candidate and ex-Councilman John Cranley today
announced his two-part innovation plan, which he said would boost government transparency and help continue the
nationally recognized momentum Cincinnati has recently gained as a tech
startup hub.
The plan would take $5 million over four years from the
capital budget and ask local startup incubators Cintrifuse, The Brandery
and CincyTech where they would like to see the money going. As one
example, Cranley said the money could help host an annual “hackathon” in
which savvy innovators compete to create apps that could better connect
residents and city services.
When asked specifically where the money would come from,
Cranley said it would be part of the $30 million the city allocates each year to capital projects. Cranley also remarked that the city will
have more capital funds if he dismantles the streetcar project, which he has long opposed.
Cranley’s innovation plan also calls for hiring a chief
innovation officer (CIO) and creating “CincyData,” a transparency
initiative that would gather and publish city data to create “a more
efficient, effective and user-friendly City government.”
“This is about improving customer service for city services,” Cranley said.
The CIO and CincyData would also help find new ways to
carry out city services in the hopes of running the local government
more efficiently.
Cranley said he’s in preliminary talks with Cincinnati
Bell to see what it would take and how much it would cost to establish
CincyData.
As for the CIO, paying for the position’s salary would cost the city about
$50,000 to $60,000 a year, according to Cranley. That’s about 0.01 to
0.02 percent of the city’s operating budget.
Cranley said he currently has no one in mind for the CIO position.
Cranley is running for mayor against fellow Democrat Vice
Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who has publicly supported Cincinnati’s startup
incubators during her time in City Council; Libertarian Jim Berns; and
Independent Sandra “Queen” Noble.
Cincinnati recently gained national recognition for its tech boom in Entrepreneur and CNBC, with Entrepreneur calling the city “an unexpected hub for tech startups.”
City Council on Aug. 7 approved using $4.5 million to help
move Cintrifuse, The Brandery and CincyTech to new Over-the-Rhine
headquarters. Cintrifuse claims the new home will make it easier to
attract and keep businesses in Cincinnati, especially since
Over-the-Rhine is currently undergoing its own economic revitalization.
An Aug. 14 study
from Engine and the Kauffman Foundation found high-tech startups add
jobs more quickly than new businesses in other sectors, but the startups are also
just as likely to fail as other businesses in the long term. The study also found that tech
startups are more likely to cluster, so establishing a city or other
location as a hub can help bring in more similar businesses.